January 2026

 Howdy y’all – from sunny Florida!

Yes, it is sunny today but has been up and way down in some of the other days, much to the chagrin of the snowbirds who come to Florida to get warm.  Oh, well, it’s probably better than what they left at home.
And you know what, even with the screwy weather lately, we have still managed to have some beautifully spectacular sunsets full of bright pinks and oranges that covered the entire sky and the clouds therein.  Sunsets can be so lovely!

Did you catch the southern drawl in my opening greeting?  I was quite surprised when I heard my little hairdresser, Lisa, let a y’all slip from her lips during my visit to her salon.  I have detected a slight southern twang ln her voice before, but this use of the word to remind a couple of ladies of a changed appointment time, really surprised me.  I wonder how often she does use it?  I haven’t heard it from anyone else yet.

Speaking of Lisa, she did give me a new permanent on the first Friday of the new year.  I had had one from Norma in Grants Pass shortly before I left there on Sept. 10th.  My hair seems to grow fast so it was becoming long and scraggly and Lisa wanted to do it in Dec. but I made her wait until Jan. to give me more time between permanents.  Now maybe I can stretch tthe next one in May, into June. I’ll see.  Norma used to say that the permanent solution was good for the hair and that it made my silvery white hair just shine.  Well maybe so, but I still don’t want one more often than four months, that’s for sure.

Along with the changing of weather between hot and cold, I also had the household water change from hot to cold, as my water heater would occasionally flip the circuit breaker in the fuse box and I would end up with cold water when I was expecting hot.  Brrr!  Thereafter, I'd make sure to ask Dan to check the fuse box to see if it was safe to take a shower or not.  He has no idea why it was acting that way.  It seems okay right now.   I sure hope it stays that way, ‘cause I don’t like those water tricks!

On the 12th of January I had a rather hurried visit with my primary care physician, Dr. Kunlas.  My first time with him was shortly after I arrived.  Upon waiting for a long time, he showed up with my three -month-old blood work results in his hand, which he began to read and say more or less to himself, “Okay, that’s okay, that’s okay, and that’s okay too.  Everything checks out, so I’ll see you again in six months”  He did notice a sore on my face but said nothing about it.   And I did manage to ask him if he would please set up a bone density test for me because I’d like to have one.  “Well, okay, if you think you need one” he said, as he opened the door.  I grabbed onto him and showed him the log I was keeping of the blood pressure readings that were mostly below the normal, I thought.  He didn’t even glance at it, but just said, “It’s common for readings to go above and below what is called the norm and still be okay, so don’t worry about it”, as he hurried down the hall.  But I think I’ll continue to keep the log going just to see how often the readings change.  I sure hope he’ll follow through with the bone density test.   Quite an informative visit, huh? But I know he was running way behind in his appointment times.  I'm so blessed with good health at my age!

You know, after NewYears Day there’s not much to do or think about until Valentine’s Day in mid-February
So I sometimes toss in a puzzle unassociated with any special day.  But this month I realized that since Martin Luther King Day was declared a federal holiday I should get busy and make up a puzzle about him.  With Dan’s help supplying enough words related to the occasion on the 19th and also a ruler with which to make the grid of squares, I set to work trying to fill the squares properly and with a few diagonals, hopefully just enough to make it a little more interesting and challenging.  

Another thing I do with my word search puzzles is to fill all the unused squares with letters that will form a corresponding message after all the listed words have been located.  Sometimes that's harder to achieve than finding a space for all the chosen words.  But I stick with it until I make it all fit together properly.  That’s the challenging part I like most about the puzzles I create.  So, by burning some midnight oil, I did finish in time to make enough copies to share with the folks at the NuHope on Wed. morning and with Dan’s scripture study group on Wed. evening.  And of course the master sheet will be added with others and be available for many years to come.  I now have a whole stack of masters for every occasion to share with my new friends.

Dan loves puzzles and is a whizz at doing crosswords, cryptoquotes and sudoku puzzles.  I've tried my hand at all of those but I like word search the best.  He thinks it’s not challenging enough for the brain, but I sure do.  Since we have a golf course here in the Golf Hammock Community, Dan has taken up golfing again and participates three times a week, weather permitting.  In high school his passion was baseball and still is, but in college he got interested in golf and has now taken it up again.  He also tries to get in an early morning walk each day, again weather permitting, so I commend him for trying to maintain a good physical condition at age 67.
 
Cathy, at 61 is trying to do the same by attending the nearby YMCA several times a week where she participates in lap swimming and treadmill, and is getting herself into good shape too.  Yay!  And hoisting my wheelchair in and out of the car helps too, I’d say.  They are both very active in their church callings too, he's a stake high councilor and she is the young women’s president.  But me? I just sit back and listen.  I eat well, clean my plate of whatever is put on it, don’t exercise much, but maintain the same weight I’ve always had of between 125 and 130 lbs, have a bright happy outlook on life, so I figure I’m doing pretty well for a 98-year-old, wouldn’t you say?  So I try not to worry about anything if I can

Oh, there was one thing that came up in mid-January that worried of all the elderly folks that meet at NuHope each morning.  That’s when we are treated to a fine breakfast of scrambled eggs with melted cheese, bits of sausage, and some kind of cooked greenery, along with either hash browns or French toast depending on the day and always accompanied by a carton of milk, which gives to everyone a nice start for their day.  Nu Hope sponsors a used furniture and clothing store and is a federally funded organization.   So, when the heads of NuHope received word from the Feds that funds were being dropped and that breakfasts for the elderly were being disbanded beginning Mon. Jan. 16th, that was really a shocker!

The first thought of some was to rebel, get up a petition, write to our congressman, or just be mad and brood about it until they realized there is really nothing they can do about it, so just forget it and let it be.  Knowing that we must all learn to adjust to the new circumstances, many including myself, are making cash donations, Cathy made a bread tray, and others are bringing cereals and other food to share. And I brought in a tall can of Swiss Miss cocoa mix for everyone to use. Yes, it was a rather sad thing for the federal government to do to the elderly.  But it was only breakfast that was eliminated.  The lunchtime meal is still intact (at least so far) and the milk cartons are supplied to NuHope separately so they are still available, thank goodness. It will be a good sharing time for all of us and I’m sure we’ll make out just fine. And there will be no more grumpy voices, but only sweet, happy, smiling faces, as we continue on.

And by golly, that’s what I wish for all of you too, along with God’s love and precious blessings.  And besides those smiling faces I wish for each of you good health so that you may enjoy the many beauties of this wonderful world.  And my love reaches out to you no matter how near or far away you may be.  Believe me when I say that my heart goes out to y’all until we meet again next month.

Love,     

Marie